Northern Taps in King Street shut with a notice appearing in the window thanking “our special customers.”

Its landlord, the firm which owns the Kingsgate Shopping Centre, said the bar “closed for business last week due to a downturn in trade and in an effort to re-let the unit as quickly as possible we forfeited the lease in lieu of unpaid rent.”

A notice previously left in the window by Northern Taps put the blame at the door of Kirklees Council for the “extortionate” rates on the property, the bus gates and also the Examiner for what is claims has ‘sensationalised’ stories about knife crime in the town centre.

The owner of the unit, Rotorarena Ltd, which also owns the adjoining Kingsgate shopping centre, has now posted notices saying it has entered the premises and forfeited under the terms of the lease.